Hearse



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No. 584.512. Patented June 15,41897.

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M. KOPPB.

HEARSE.

No. 554,512. Patented June 15, 1897.

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MATTHEIV KOPPE, OF BROOKLYN, NEIV YORK.

HEARSE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 584,512, dated June 15, 1897. Application led December 10, 1896. Serial No. 615,150. (No model.)

To tu whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, MATTHEW KOPPE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Im provements in Hearses; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and

exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in hearses.

The object of my invention is to provide means for removably attaching the draperies to a hearse, whereby draperies of different styles or colors or combinations of colors may be interchangeably attached to the hearse. It is usual to provide at least two sets of drapery for each hearse, one set, for instance, being black, another set black and white, and, if desired, a third set white only. Under those constructions hitherto known of which I have any knowledge the changing of the draperies requited much labor and time, and it is the purpose of my invention to enable the desired draperies to be removed or replaced in a ra-pid and easy manner.

With this main object in view and some others which will be obvious to those skilled in the art, a structure embodying my invention comprises a hammer-cloth to be placed around the end of the seat and means for securing the said hammer-cloth removably in place.

It comprises, further, the combination, with a corner post, pillar, or the likeon a hearse, of a drapery and means for removably connecting the drapery to the said corner post, pillar, or the like.

My invention consists, further, in the features, details of combination, and combinations of parts, which will iirst be described in connection with lthe accompanying drawings and then particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a hearse embodying my invention,

Fig. 2, a similar view showing an attaching device for securing the hammer-cloth to the boot, the hammer-cloth not being shown; F1g.

3, a detail view of the boot without the hammer-cloth or attaching device 5 and Fig. 4, a cross-section of the boot, showing the attaching device and hammer-cloth connected to the boot.V Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the hammer-cloth and attaching device. Fig. 6 is a detail view, partly in section, showing one of the cornerpillars. Fig. 7 is a front view of a corner or pillar drapery removed. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one of the springrings.

Referring to the drawings, A is a hearse provided with the usual boot a.

B represents a hammer-cloth "arranged to be removably attached to the boot or endof the seat by a hammer-cloth-attaching device O, which in the preferred form of my construction comprises a sti ffening-bar c, to which the hammer cloth is secured, and means for removably securing the said stiffening-bar to the boot. In the construction shown said means consist of hooks c', which are rigidly connected to the stitfening-bar c in any suitable way, such as by riveting or welding, the said hooks c' being arranged to hook over the ledge a' at the top of the boot. The stilfening-bar c may be provided with inward-extending ends ci, which pass to' the front and rear, respectively, of the boot, and thereby bring the hammer-cloth around-onto the front and rear of said boot. The said stiffeningbar c, when thus formed with inward-extcnding ends, may be made of resilientmaterial, such as spring-steel, so that its ends c2 will grasp the said front and rear of the boot and thereby assist in holding itself and the hammer-cloth in position.

The hooks c are preferably provided with downwardly-extending portions c3, which act as brackets and bear against the ends of the boot in order to steady the stiffening--bar c, and thus prevent undue rattling of the same. As the ends of the boot in most forms of hearses flare outward and downward, the said brackets c3 are also bent outward to correspond to the slope of the said ends of the boot, and this construction has a great advantage over a vertical bracket resting against a vertical boot end, because such a sloping boot end assists in supporting the bracket c3 and IOO bar c, While the vertical end and bracket only steady the bar c, whose entire weight is supported by the hooks c.

By the construction thus far described a plurality of hammer-cloths may be interchangeably employed in connection with a hearse, each cloth being permanently connected to its respective attaching device. In this way a white, a black, or a black and white hammer-cloth, for example, may be quickly and easily applied to a hearse or removed therefrom, thus giving a variety of draperies and also allowing the use ofthe hearse with an undraped boot when so desired.

Vhen the hammer-cloth is changed, it is necessary that a ccrrespondin g change be made in the rei'naining draperies of the hearse. These remaining draperies usually comprise curtains D within the hearse and pillar or corner draperies E.

The curtains I) are readily changed in the usual manner, as is already Well known,said curtains being provided with hooks which en-A gage eyelets on the inside of the hearse-body. As the interchangeability of the 'said curtains D does not result from my invention, it will be unnecessary to refer again to said curtains or the manner of changing them.

The corner or pillar draperies, under my invention, are removably attached to the hearse-body in the following manner: Each of said corner draperies is provided with a drapery-holding device which engages the corner of the hearse-body and preferably formed of one or Vmore curved spring-rings e, to which the cloth c', forming the drapery, is attached, these spring-rings being arranged to spring onto a suitable projection on the hearse-body. In the construction illustrated in the drawings, which I consider the best form of carrying out my invention, the hearsecorners are each provided with a pillar a2, which stands out a short distance from the hearse-body in order to leave a space between the body and the pillar. By this construction the spring ring or rings c may be clamped entirely around the respective pillar, whereby the cloth c also is brought entirely around said pillar and thus completely covers the same.

In order to prevent the spring-rings from `sliding downward on the pillar, said pillar is preferably constructed with a reduced portion a3 wherever a spring-ring is to engage the pillar, whereby shoulders a4 are formed, which stop the ring` from sliding either down or up on the pillar, or said shoulders a4 may be formed by annular projections secured on or formed integral with the pillar. The former construction is shown in Fig. 6 and the latter in Fig. 6 at the left.

In order that the spring rings may be quickly and easily clamped onto the pillar, and also to prevent their free ends from catching in the cloth or other material, the said ends are preferably provided with enlargements e2, which in this case are formed by coiling each end into a ring, as shown. In this form the spring -ring may be placed against a pillar with its enlargements e2 at each side of the point of contact with the pillar, whereupon, on the application of suincient force, the two ends of the ring separate and the ring slips onto the said pillar, the elasticity of the ring causing it to bring its ends together as soon as it has passed the largest part of the pillar.

Vthile I have in view the employment of cloth o r other flexible material for the draperies of the hearse, it is to be understood that any suitable material may be employed, and the corner or pillar draperies, instead of being so iiexible as to be easily folded up when removed from the pillar, may be of suitable stiff material, so as to retain the shape of a cylinder slit on one' side when removed from the pillar.

It will be clear that various corner orpillar h draperies may be provided, which, having each a sp'rii'lg-ring' or preferably a plurality of spring-rings, may be interchangeably secured to the pillars or other similarly-employed ornamentation or projection on the hearse-body. Thus by the employment of a number of sets of different-colored draperies to correspond to the colors of the various hammer-cloths the hearse may be draped as desired, either in black, black and white, or white, the curtains D, as above mentioned, being changed to correspond.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with a hearse-boot, of a hammer-cloth, and means for remgvably connecting the hammer-cloth to the boot.

2. 'Ihe combination, with a hearse-boot, of a hammer-cloth, and means iiXed to the hain# mer-cloth for detachably connecting the latter to the boot.

3. The combination, with a hearse -boot having a ledge around its upper edge, of a hammer-cloth, and means connected to the hammer-cloth and engaging the said ledge.

4f. The combination, with a hearse-boot, of a hammer-cloth, a sti1`fening-bar fixed to the hammer-cloth, and means carried by the stiftening-bar and arranged to be detachably connected to the boot.

5. The combination,with ahearse-boot, and a hammer-cloth, of a stiffening-bar provided with inward-proj ectin g ends arranged to pass to the front and rear, respectively, of the boot,- the hammer-cloth being connected to said bar.

6. The combination,with a hearse-boot, and a hammer-cloth, of a stiffening-bar provided with resilient inward projecting ends arranged to engage the front and rear, respectively, of the boot, the hammer-cloth being connected to said bar.

7. The combination,with ahearse-boot, and a hammer-cloth, of a stiffening-bar to which IOO IIO

the hammer-Cloth is Connected, and hooks earried by the said bar and arranged to engage the boot.

S. The eolnbinationvith ahearse-boot, and a hammer-eloth, of a stiffening-bar to which the hammer-cloth is connected, of brackets projecting downward from said bar and resting against the end of the boot.

9. The eo1nbination,with a hearse-boot, and a hammer-cloth, of a stii'ening-bar to which the hammer-cloth is connected, hooks carried by the stiffening-bar and arranged to enga-ge the boot, and brackets projecting downward from the said stiffening-bar and arranged to rest against the end of the boot.

10. The Combination, with a hearse-boot, havin a downward and outward flaring end, of a stitl'ening-bar provided with downward and outward flaring brackets arranged to rest .on said end of the boot, and a hammer-cloth carried by the said stiffening-bar.

11. The combination, with a hearse-body, of a corner drapery detaehably connected to the corner of the said hearse-body.

12. The combination, with a hearse-body, having a pillar, of a drapery, and means for detachably connecting the drapery to said pillar.

13. The combination, with a hearse-body having a pillar, a space being formed between the pillar and body, of a drapery, and means surrounding the pillar for detaehably conneoting the drapery to the pillar.

14. The combination, with a hearse-body having a pillar, of a drapery, and a springring connected to the drapery and arranged to engage the pillar.

15. The combination, with a hearse-body having a pillar provided with a shoulder, of a drapery, and a spring-ring connected to the drapery and arranged to engage the pillar adjacent to the shoulder.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MATTHEV KOPPE.

Witnesses:

HENRY B. SALIsBURY, ISAAC HYMAN. 

